Archoness
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
Contents |
Affiliations
Calista Troy, a mutant also known as Archoness, is a member of Foundation X, the private security consulting team comprised entirely of mutants that works directly for the Duchesne Foundation. Calista was almost seduced by the Carnival of Shadows during her late teens due to her abilities to create powerful emotion-based illusions, but she was rescued by DIADEM in 2003 and saved from a life of crime.
Backstory
Calista Troy grew up as the oil child of a wealthy oil tycoon from Georgia. Although Calista lives entirely off of established trust funds worth tens of millions of dollars for herself alone, her father's corporate empire, Troy Industries, is worth over $100 billion in its own right. Recklessly spoiled since her youth, Calista only knew a life where she received everything she asked for.
As Calista grew into her teens she inadvertently learned that her ability to get what she wanted had little to nothing to do with the fact that she was wealthy and attractive, although these qualities certainly did help. Calista discovered that people were catering to her due to the way she wanted them to perceive her on an empathic and psychic level. Calista correctly assumed that she must be a mutant, but rather than seek some form of confirmation with GIFT she chose to explore using her abilities to confirm what she was already discovering.
Within months of her sixteenth birthday Calista was reaping her abilities to their fullest benefits. Her power to instinctively manipulate a person's perception of her allowed her to evoke a variety of emotional responses in others - loyalty, lust, and fear among them. Calista also learned that she could not only manipulate perceptions but also create tangible illusions that could trick a person's mind and senses into believing that they were not just illusions or hallucinations, but facets of reality. These illusions manifested with complete audio, visual, and when necessary tactile and olfactory capabilities as well.
Calista quickly created a whirlwind of attention around herself, essentially forming a cult if personality that catered to her every whim. The Carnival of Shadows caught onto what Calista was doing, and shortly after the First Rikti War they made contact with her. The Carnival was able to bring Calista into their fold over several months, promising one day to offer her an opportunity to join their ranks. Fortunately for Calista her father, Dimitrios Troy knew all too well who Calista's new friends were. Calling upon his friend and colleague Victor Duchesne, Dimitrios pleaded with his friend to bring his daughter back to him before he lost her forever. Victor Duchesne arranged for several heroes to extract Calista from the Carnival of Shadows and bring her safely to the newly formed Duchesne Institute for the Advanced Development and Education of Mutants, or DIADEM. Calista reluctantly joined DIADEM in 2003 at the behest of her father, who threatened to cut her off entirely from her trust funds if she did not complete her training with them.
In 2008 Calista completed her training with DIADEM and earned a B.S. in Business Administration. She is continuing her studies to earn her Masters degree in preparation for a senior executive role within Troy Industries. Calista still enjoys and expects to be catered to and waited on to some degree, but is no longer the spoiled brat she once was. Calista currently works with Foundation X as a security consultant for the Duchesne Foundation.
Powers
Illusion Control
Calista can create and control illusions by sheer force of will. This ability works on both a telepathic and empathic level, allowing her to instinctively draw upon a target's emotional and logical triggers to fabricate an illusion so real as to create whatever emotional response in a target that she desires. For example, if Calista wishes an audience to admire or fear her she will know just how to alter their perceptions of her appearance, voice, and mannerisms as to achieve that affect. Calista can also cause intense flashes of light and sound with her abilities, temporarily blinding and deafening others while causing them extreme discomfort and disorienation.
Sound Manipulation
Although Calista can not project sound or sonic waves, she can manipulate the manner in which sound works. Ordinarily she uses this ability to enhance and magnify her illusions, but Calista can also use her ability to set up sonic vibrations within targets. These vibrations can cause nausea and disorientation in living targets, and Calista can intensify them strongly enough as to weaken the structural integrity of solid objects.